Volume 3: The Land of Jingchu Chapter 252 Debate
After the General's Mansion held a welcoming banquet for Gan Ning, news of the situation in Yizhou gradually spread through various channels.
Bai Tu was intentionally lenient about this and gave everyone some time to react. Five days later, during the Yuedan meeting, he formally allowed Gan Ning to report on the affairs of Yizhou in front of the staff of the six ministries.
Of course, in the "official announcement", Gan Ning set up the "Governor's Office" at Bai Tu's advance instruction to prevent anyone from fussing over these minor details.
"Everyone already knows the general situation of Yizhou. If you have any ideas about the candidate for the 'Governor of Yizhou', you can speak freely." Bai Tu said directly after Gan Ning spoke.
Everyone else had heard about the Governor of Yizhou to some extent before.
When Bai Tu mentioned the "serious business", many people immediately became interested... Of course, the basic spirit of "humility" is still necessary.
Lu Kang looked around and saw that everyone was waiting for the first person to come forward, so he took the initiative to stand up and said, "My lord, I am willing to share the worries of the general's mansion."
"I know Mr. Lu's sincere intentions, but the Ministry of Revenue still needs your hard work, so you should give the younger generation more opportunities." Bai Tu said.
Bai Tu's "rejection" was also expected. No matter how hard you think about it, you know... At Lu Kang's age, the soil will bury his eyebrows. Going to an isolated place to be the governor? If there is a mistake, Yizhou may be in chaos. Not to mention that the general's mansion really needs Lu Kang now.
"My lord, Teng is not talented, but I am willing to share the worries of the general's mansion." The speaker was Wei Teng of the Wei family, who also recommended himself.
"Oh? If Zhou Xiu arrives in Yizhou, how will he govern the Dongyu people?" Bai Tu asked. " Zhou Xiu" is Wei Teng's courtesy name.
"According to Governor Gan, the Dongyu people in Yizhou are almost all raw meat and drink blood, and have no moral principles. I think they will seek food when hungry and rebel when full. We should use weapons to deter their ambitions and use labor to grind away their bestiality. We should move the people of Kuaiji to Yizhou and encourage Han men to intermarry with the Dongyu people. This will ensure long-term stability." Wei Teng said.
After listening to this, Bai Tu nodded expressionlessly and said, "Well, Zhou Xiu, please take a seat first and listen to what other opinions our colleagues have."
Bai Tu said: You go back and wait for notification.
Wei Teng understood the subtext of this, so he had no choice but to sit back down.
Others could also hear that Bai Tu was not satisfied with Wei Teng's ideas...
Wei Teng was born into the Wei family, one of the most prominent families in Kuaiji County. Wei Teng himself was also known for his incorruptibility. In the late Eastern Han Dynasty, he would have been a moral role model!
However, even if it is such a person, listen to what he says, is it human language?
Although he said a lot, how could Bai Tu not understand the hidden meaning in it? It was nothing more than to say that they would first conquer the Dongyu people with force to scare them away from rebelling, then enslave them to do hard labor so that they would not have the strength to rebel, and then move in the "people" of Kuaiji, "occupy" the Dongyu people's women, and make them gradually disappear...
And the so-called "common people" needless to say, are definitely hidden households or side branches of the Wei family, who are also doing hard labor... There are so many wealthy and powerful people in Kuaiji, so there is no need to worry that no one is willing to take over.
When Wei Teng stepped forward, the aristocratic families in Kuaiji obviously had some expectations - if this matter was taken over by the Wei family, they would also be able to benefit from it.
As for the others, they are just condiments to justify their actions.
This is why Bai Tu sneered at what they called "rule of virtue"...
Perhaps they think they have a high moral standard and advocate virtue first, and they would like to learn how to be a good person for 20 years before becoming an official, but... if it is not inappropriate, Bai Tu really wants to slap a few elementary school ideology and morality textbooks on their faces!
If it were a modern person, even if he or she had only completed compulsory education and, from the ancients' point of view, was a "product" of the exam-oriented education in which moral education accounts for a very small proportion of learning, he or she would not be able to say such shameless words.
"My lord, Yong is willing to share the worries of the general's mansion." Jinling Order Gu Yong also stood up at this time.
The Gu family that Gu Yong was born into is a prominent family in Wu County. It can be seen that these aristocratic families also have a "tacit understanding". Just now it was Wei Teng from the Kuaiji family who stepped forward, and now they will wait for a representative from the Wu County family so as not to appear too greedy.
As for those who are not from aristocratic families...
It’s not that the aristocratic families have been suppressing them much, after all, Bai Tu has been keeping an eye on this matter, but... for talents who are not from aristocratic families, going to Yizhou to be a "savage king" is not a good job. They are not like the aristocratic families who can turn slaves into cash, so there is no need to fight for them.
"If Yuan Tan becomes the governor, how will he take action in Yizhou?" Bai Tu asked.
"We can follow the example of the Southern Xiongnu's migration inland, divide their tribes, demarcate their territories, and order their nobles to govern themselves. The governor-general only needs to have the power of mediation, and we can ensure stability. After the shipyards and ports are ready, we can also hire their labor and purchase their supplies." Gu Yong said.
Gu Yong was softer-hearted than Wei Teng. He proposed to enfeoff the nobles among the Dongyu people and then move them to the mountains and forests. Anyway, the Han people made low use of the mountains and forests, so we only needed the coastal areas and plains.
And after they are divided into different departments, if there are any conflicts between them, the Governor's Office can mediate on their behalf. If there are no conflicts, the Governor's Office can also create conflicts to mediate...
Moreover, in Yizhou, when the shipyard is built and a large number of huge trees are needed, these Dongyu people who are accustomed to living in the mountains and forests can also be used as labor, killing two birds with one stone.
In short, they will not have the time to cause trouble, just like the Han Dynasty did to the Southern Xiongnu - I will designate areas for you, and enthrone your Khan, you just graze your livestock well, and I will buy your sheepskins and horses.
Of course, the policy of relocating the Southern Xiongnu, which served as a template, has now collapsed. After the decline of the Han Dynasty, the Southern Xiongnu in the Hetao region have begun to occupy counties and cause chaos!
Bai Tu looked a little better than before, but he still said, "Well, Yuan Tan, don't worry. Jinling still needs you now."
Bai Tu said: You are excellent, and I have included you in the reserve talent resource pool.
After two people were rejected in a row, the others wanted to wait and see. Bai Tu said directly: "I will set a tone first. From now on, the Ministry of Personnel will also conduct an assessment of the Yizhou Governor's Office every year. The population of the Dongyu people is contrary to the people's hearts, and the degree of education will also be the focus of the assessment."
Bai Tu directly revealed his desire to civilize the Dongyu people.
This undoubtedly disappointed many aristocratic families. Zhang Hong of the Zhang clan hesitated for a moment, then said, "The virtue of the lord is as clear as the sun and the moon, but... it is better for the barbarians to have a lord than for the Chinese to have no lord. The barbarians have lived on the island for a long time and have become wolves by nature. They do not understand etiquette and morality. It is better to wait until they are educated and then see what happens."
What Zhang Hong meant was that before treating the Dongyu people as “human beings”, it would be better to try to see if they could be educated.
However, for those who directly questioned Bai Tu, before Bai Tu could say anything, some people started to stick their necks out...
"What a great 'barbarians have a king'! Do you also want to 'As the poem says: Rong and Di are the enemy, Jing and Shu are the punishment'... I wonder who you want to punish, Zhang Hong? And who do you think is the king of the barbarians?" Ni Heng stretched his neck and shouted.
Zhang Hong: ???
There are two common explanations for the saying "The barbarians are not as good as the Chinese without a monarch". One is that the "barbarians" with a monarch are not as good as the "Chinese without a monarch" in terms of courtesy and righteousness; the other is that even the barbarians have wise monarchs, but the Chinese countries do not have wise monarchs...
If we follow the latter explanation, then the "barbarians" here mainly refer to the Chu and Wu states - never mind who their ancestors were, in Confucius' contempt chain, these vassal states that were not enfeoffed by the Zhou Dynasty were "barbarians."
The Book of Songs says, "Rongdi is Ying, Jingshu is punishment", which is more specific, putting Jing and Shu on the same level as Rongdi. The so-called Jing and Shu refer to the Chu State and Shu State, which is now the area of Jingzhou and Huainan...
In the pre-Qin period, Jingchu, Wu and Yue were always the hardest hit areas by regional corruption.
No matter what Zhang Hong's original intention was, Ni Heng now blamed him - you kid just want to rebel against the general's mansion!
"You, what are you doing..." Zhang Hong stomped his feet in anger.
"Zhengping, don't be rude... Zigang, Zhengping is still young, don't take it to heart." Bai Tu advised at this time.
However, the dispute between the two, or rather... it was just Ni Heng's unreasonable behavior, was not defined.
Just when Zhang Hong was about to say something else, an unexpected person stood up.
"If my lord has this intention, I would rather go."
The person who spoke was naturally not Gan Ning, but... Guan Ning!
Since Guan Ning joined the General's Mansion, he has been serving as the Grand Priest of the Ministry of Rites. Compared with Kong Rong, Guan Ning did not play any direct role. However... for a celebrity of Guan Ning's level, just "joining" has already played a potential role.
It is equivalent to putting an extra layer of protection on the outside of Bai Tu’s face, making it more difficult for others to "attack" Bai Tu on the face!
However, the fact that Guan Ning actually recommended himself was beyond Bai Tu's and other people's expectations.
After all, in terms of his origin, Guan Ning is not even as good as a poor family. It is only because of his master that he can be considered half a poor family.
Guan Ning's fame had already reached the peak among celebrities. Going to Yizhou to educate the Dongyu people at this time would not substantially improve his fame.
In terms of "benefits", Guan Ning had no reason to stand up.
"Mr. Guan is going..."
As soon as Bai Tu opened his mouth, Guan Ning immediately said, "I am willing to use the remaining strength of my life to teach the Dongyu people and transform them."
Bai Tu was speechless for a moment. Originally, Bai Tu didn't want to ask Guan Ning what he wanted to do. After all, Guan Ning was already over 40 years old and was going to "sail far away" to Yizhou, where the climate was very different from that of Jinling. If something happened to him, wouldn't Bai Tu be embarrassed?
However, Guan Ning's firm tone and words moved Bai Tu...
Bai Tu changed his original words to: "Mr. Guan, what teaching do you want to use to convert them?"
